Scare Tactics
by Sui Megami
Summary: It's time for Terry to learn a little bit about what it means to be the Dark Knight.


Bijin: As promised, here's Scare Tactics. Once again written at like... 2:00 in the morning. Why do I do this to myself? Either way, the writing style could use some work in my opinion. Though, then again, I'm the writer, so I always think my work could be a lot better. For those of you who liked 'He is Batman', here's Scare Tactics. This story takes place shortly after Terry becomes Batman. I think I said like... a little over a week, and it's time for Terry to log some hours on the simulator. Enjoy!

* * *

"Hey... take it easy."

The deep and sullen voice of Bruce Wayne filtered through a headphone placed directly next to the ear of one dark figure, the Prince of the Night. Batman sighed, and peered over the rooftop once more, watching a group of Jokerz attempting to weasle their way past a security box placed near the rooftop door. The rooftop was generally barren, a simple apartment building. The city rose up around them, a construction site to the side and a a still crane casting a shadow across the area. The bat rolled his eyes. "They're right there, and they don't know I'm here. Why can't I go after them?"

"Just wait for a moment. Don't be too hasty. It's commonplace not to rush into things."

"Listen... you've had years of experience. I've had... about thirteen hours."

"Get used to it kid. If you aren't cut out for it, you can quit."

"Nah." Batman hummed for a moment before he peeked at the Jokerz one last time, pausing for a breath, then launching himself over the edge of the roof and slamming his foot into the nearest Joker. The young man groaned and fell to the ground, leaving room for Batman to swing out his foot, catching the other two across the jaw with his heel. The two were downed, and the bat stared happily down at his work. Though suddenly, the area began to distort, the dementedly decorated faces of his opponents swirling to become the tops of generic mindless androids. The rooftop gave way to the metal of the real ground and Batman found himself staring into the eyes of a rather cross-looking Bruce Wayne. He backed up. "What?" He demanded, pointing at the androids. "What's wrong with that? I took them down, didn't I?"

"Yes, and you did it with skill, but you still fail." Bruce growled, turning and wandering back to his computer, Ace walking obediantly at his heels with a customary growl and dirty look to Batman first. The dark knight rolled hidden eyes and pulled the mask from his face, revealing the young visage of Terry McGinnis. He followed briskly after Bruce, hands on his hips. "Oh come on... what did I do wrong? I did what you said... wait until they almost had broken through... knock them out... don't kill anyone... be quick and silent." Gloved hands counted off the items as he spoke.

Bruce sighed, placing two fingers to the bridge of his nose as he sat at his computer. "You don't seem to get it. There's more to it than that."

"It would be easier for me to 'get it' if you'd explain it to me." Terry retorted, waving a hand around.

"Look... I can't explain everything to you. Some things you'll have to figure things out for yourself. We'll run the same simulation in two days. You'd better do it perfect this time or the suit goes back in the case." Bruce growled, pointing behind him.

Terry took a moment to stand still, wondering if perhaps the man was serious. Deciding it was better not to test him, Terry sighed and wandered toward the back to pull the suit off.

* * *

"Hey Terry!"

Terry turned as a black-haired beauty waved her arms, quickening her pace to catch up with him. On her heels was a pink-haired girl, her arms laden with a laptop and a few notebooks. Terry waved back as the first girl wrapped her arms around his middle. "Hey Dana." Terry chuckled, embracing her back, then smiling at the other girl. "What's up, Max?"

Max shrugged. "Nothing much. Feeling lucky to catch the elusive Terry McGinnis away from his new employer." She commented, hands on her hips.

"Max and I were headed over to get some burgers. You got time to come with?" Dana requested, pulling at Terry's arm.

Terry chuckled. "Sure. I'm... trying to avoid heading over there anyway."

"Mr. Wayne working you too hard?" Dana guessed as they neared the restaraunt. "You've been pretty busy lately."

"I suppose. But he seems to be really picky. He's really specific about the way I do things. Though I suppose when you have a job like mine they want you to be that way, huh?" Terry sighed.

Max waved her friends off as they headed in. "You guys find a seat. I'll get the burgers."

Terry and Dana nodded and wandered away to sit at a booth, taking places next to each other and leaving the other side free for Max. Dana looked up at him. "Have you talked to him about it?"

"He's not really the conversational type." Terry muttered, glancing to the side. "He says I have to figure it out on my own. I don't even know what that means."

"Has he given you any clues?" Dana inquired. Terry shook his head and she wrinkled her nose. The man had always seemed to be a little strange, sealing himself off from society in his mansion, and only having his company as an outside contact. And even there he was rarely seen. Now, suddenly, her boyfriend was working for him as an errand boy. It seemed a prestegious enough job, at least among high-schoolers, though now that he was talking about it, it seemed to be something a bit more difficult than she imagined.

Max returned quickly with a small tray full of burgers, passing a drink each to her friends. "Oh, have you guys heard? It's been all over the net lately, but people are saying Batman's back."

"Batman?" Dana repeated. Terry just blinked.

Max nodded. "Yeah. They say he was seen in the Wayne Powers building last week. He caused quite a commotion there, then just vanished like he always does."

"Was there a problem?" Terry inquired, an odd tense quality to his tone.

Max either ignored it or didn't notice it at all. "No idea. There wasn't too big of an issue, though there were rumors leaked that he brought down one of their transport ships. They're kind of sweeping it under the rug though. I imagine it means that they were transporting something illegal and Batman took action."

"Wow... Batman in our generation..." Dana chuckled faintly. "That's really cool. I always wondered what it was like around Batman's time. But wouldn't Batman be an old guy by now? He hasn't been seen in... somehwere around 50 years."

"Yeah, and how do they know it's Batman? Did someone see him?" Terry added.

"The guards who were on duty at the plant said it was Batman. And as for how old he is, I dunno. I mean, the guards did say he was fairly small for Batman. Not nearly as overbearing as the other Batman." Terry raised in eyebrow at her. Max took a bite of her burger and wiggled slightly in her seat. "This is so cool though. Batman in Gotham again. He's so iconic. I suppose you could describe him as scary considering the way he stalks around at night... but he really is a symbol of hope around here. With all the crime around Gotham, the public needs someone for the criminals to be afraid of."

"Afraid?" Terry muttered distractedly, his eyes wandering out the window.

"Yeah." Dana nodded. "You know how he would always swoop in out of nowhere, beat up the crooks, then vanish again? The way he operated was scary and it really worked. He was a genius. Or... is a genius... considering he's apparently still alive."

"Genius, huh?" Terry muttered again. Something in his mind registered the word 'scared' and repeated it over and over, playing back with it, memories of two days ago- the failed simulation.

_"Oh come on... what did I do wrong? I did what you said... wait until they almost had broken through... knock them out... don't kill anyone... be quick and silent." Gloved hands counted off the items as he spoke._

_Bruce sighed, placing two fingers to the bridge of his nose as he sat at his computer. "You don't seem to get it. There's more to it than that."_

If he wanted to remain this iconic character that struck so much fear into the hearts of those he fought, he needed to figure out what it was Bruce wasn't telling him. Hanging up the suit wasn't an option. Apparently, there was some part of Gotham that badly needed Batman. A part that people hadn't touched on in the hero's years of absence. That needed symbol of hope, not to mention the hopeful decline of crime on the streets. Batman seemed to be able to chase crimes without ever going outside. What was it that Terry needed to do to become that Batman?

"Terry..."

Terry jolted to his senses, glancing back at Dana. "You listening to any of this?"

"Sorry. I'm slagged from school, I suppose."

"Well, eat up, McGinnis." Max insisted, pointing at his opened burger. "You still have to go to Mr. Wayne's house, right?"

"Yeah." Terry's hand covered his face. "I still need to figure out what it is he wants me to do. I'm not interested in... um... another lecture today."

"He sounds like a real task master." Max chuckled.

"No kidding. I'll be in good shape in no time if this keeps up."

"You do seem like you've been working out, Terry." Dana commented, putting a hand on his arm. His mind barely registered the compliment, and so he simply shrugged.

"I've been doing a little working out. A lot of the stuff Mr. Wayne has me doing is not only driving but also working on getting the manor into shape, so I have to do a lot of heavy lifting he can't do." He explained, thankful for the prepared responses he and his boss had worked on over the past few days.

"Well, hopefully he's just testing you, seeing what you're made of. I'm sure he'll lighten up soon." Dana smiled and leaned against him in something of a hug.

"I hope so." Terry sighed and stood, grabbing his burger and re-wrapping it. "I gotta get going. I'll get yelled at if I'm late." He leaned over and pressed his lips to Dana's cheek before heading out the door and down the street, heading for the outskirts of Gotham, where the large manor loomed.

_This is hopeless. What am I supposed to do differently? Batman's job is to get rid of the criminals, right? That's what I did in that simulation. And patrol has gone just fine the last few days. So what am I missing?_

He shoved his hands into his pockets as the paved roads gave way to dirt paths winding around the small mountain which stood on Gotham's boarder.

_"This is so cool though. Batman in Gotham again. He's so iconic. I suppose you could describe him as scary considering the way he stalks around at night... but he really is a symbol of hope around here. With all the crime around Gotham, the public needs someone for the criminals to be afraid of."_

"Hmm..." Terry hummed to the desolate surroundings. "Afraid, huh? Well yeah. Batman's a scary character. Not to mention he kicks your butt if you're doing something against the law."

_"You know how he would always swoop in out of nowhere, beat up the crooks, then vanish again? The way he operated was scary and it really worked. He was a genius."_

"Swooped in..." Terry cut himself off, his footsteps halting abruptly and his fingers swinging slightly in a snap. "That's it!" He picked up the pace and dashed toward his employer's home.

* * *

The Jokerz were there as they had been before, fiddling with the security box which sat on the rooftop. Terry smirked as Bruce's voice once again came over the speaker in his ear. "You think you've got it, eh?"

"Hope so." Terry muttered quietly. "Can't hurt to try, right?"

He was not standing at the side of the wall as he had been two days ago. Rather now, he was perched aloft of the crooks, his feet resting on a still crane in the construction site. "I suppose not. Better do it right this time."

"Yeah yeah, I got you." Terry whispered. Cameras in his visor zoomed in on one of the Jokerz hands as it fiddled with the controls, cutting wires and resetting the system. Batman's arms shot out to the sides, wings spreading beneath them as he watched them prepare to cut the last wire. "Here I go..." Jet boots launched him off of the crane and he swooped low across the Jokerz heads, catching their attention. Though he didn't land just yet. His flight took him past them, then circled around to come down and slam his body into the middle of their ringleader, downing him instantly. Keeping up his momentum, Batman quickly dashed around to hide behind a door which rose from the roof. Though from there, he tipped himself over the edge of the rooftop, standing on the small ledge which stuck out from the building's wall a mere seven feet below the roof's edge. "You guys should be more careful when disarming systems." He called out, catching their attention as he ran around the roof. As they attempted to locate the source of his voice, Batman shot upward, wings spread again, and one hand armed with a bat-arang. "They go off at the slightest little thing." The bat-arang was shot out, triggering the system as it hit the side of the box they were working on.

The two remaining took a look at him and frantically turned around, attempting to escape, though this problem was easily solved, ropes shooting from his wrist and winding around the two of them. He let the rope slack as the simulation vanished again. The mask was pulled off and Terry hopped down. "How was that?"

Bruce stood from his seat and gave a rare and wry smile. "Nicely done. What did you do differently?"

Terry shrugged, then glanced to the simulator again. "Well, Max and Dana were talking about Batman's return and they kept mentioning how scary he was. I figured you wanted me to be more like the original Batman. So I made myself a little scarier to people like that."

Bruce chuckled and shook his head. "You're wrong, but close enough." Terry raised an eyebrow at him. "Being Batman isn't just about wearing a costume and running around to hit things. Batman is an icon, a creature, something people aren't sure is human, and that uncertainty is enhanced even more now that he's back. There's a reason he's called the Dark Knight. He's a frightening figure. The reason you can beat people so easily at times while on patrol isn't just because of the suit or your own fighting ability." Bruce took a breath and smirked. "It's because Batman scares them... he makes them scared enough to wet themselves. You need to be able to strike fear into your opponents."

Terry paused for a moment, soaking up his words. "I suppose that makes sense." He pointed at him. "So all the theatrics of the 'cape and cowl days' actually had a purpose."

Bruce rolled his eyes. "Of course they did. They were scary."

Terry smirked. "I suppose I get it now." There seemed to be more to this than met the eye. The main reason Terry had joined the older man in his escapades to help rid Gotham of crime was simply due to his own past- his own desire to make up for the things he did during years of being a troubled-teenager. Though there seemed more to it than simply punching out the people who went against the law. _Time to start training to be the real Batman now, I suppose._ "So I pass?"

Bruce sighed and pointed at the simulation. "Run it again. Try another method this time."

Terry gave a sigh that caused him to bend over. "You're making me do this again and then sending me out on patrol? Geeze, you trying to kill me?"

"Collapse and we'll talk about a break." Bruce joked.

Terry sighed and couldn't help but smile as he headed into the simulation again. What a guy. Crude, seemingly uncaring, and record-breakingly bitter... but one heck of a Batman.

* * *

Bijin: Voila! Hope you guys enjoyed it... I'ma go collapse onto mah bed now... review and tell me what you think! 


End file.
